Now I get it! Why you take pitches.

JCarter93 · 05-02-2014, 03:37 AM

I admit I'm not the brightest guy when it comes to sports, but thanks to this game I got a "well duh" moment about baseball.

On the advice of this board I began micro-managing my Minor League team and made sure every player took pitches until they were on a 2-strike count. While I understood that this was to wear out the opposing starter, I did not see the long-term benefits until we played our rivals, the Binghamton Mets. It was a long-drawn out, high scoring series, which we swept only because we took pitches.

In our last game our worst starter blew the marginal lead we had staked him, and put us behind by six runs by the 4th inning. By then, though, we had knocked out the starter and were now facing middle relievers we had already seen 2 or 3 times during the series. They could only go about 10 pitches before we started to turn them into hit pinatas,and we managed to close the gap by the 8th inning. They sent their very last man to face us in the 8th, and the poor guy was throwing exhausted after the first three batters. He must have been in tears by the time we scored the last insurance run. I finally took pity on him and had my guys swing away, but we still scored twice more before someone managed to ground out.

So yeah, I finally get the idea. It's not necessarily about wining the first game in a series, it's about wearing the bullpen down so that by the third or fourth game they're too exhausted to put up a fight. War of attrition. I get now.

Cinnamon J. Scudworth · 05-02-2014, 07:56 AM

You should know that some (perhaps even most) people consider this an exploit. In real life, if you did this, the other team would notice that you are taking everything and just start pounding the strike zone. The pitching model in OOTP is not sophisticated enough to allow the AI to do this. Therefore you're getting an unrealistically high number of long at-bats and walks.

The less "gamey" way of accomplishing the same goal is to try to select players that have good Eye ratings and just let them do their thing when your team is batting. But it's your game, obviously.

StyxNCa · 05-02-2014, 09:02 AM

I do this all the time in one of the PS baseball games for exactly the reason of tiring out the bullpen early in a series. Doesn't always work cuz sometimes, especially the best pitchers, start throwing strikes. However, if they start doing that then I am expecting strikes and still can extend innings by getting hits rather than walks.

Jythier · 05-02-2014, 09:36 AM

I prefer the 'hit the first pitcher so hard that he's out in the first inning' approach to killing the bullpen, but it doesn't always work.

JCarter93 · 05-02-2014, 12:21 PM

Yeah, it occurred to me that this was kind of exploity. I'm thinking of only having them take one or two pitches, or take pitches to a hitter's count, just to simulate the manager enforcing a bit of plate discipline. Still, I see the long term value of having your guys take more pitches in real life. Even if you don't completely ruin them, getting into their bullpen as early as you can and as often as you can will certainly help you win.

MarkVIIIMarc · 05-02-2014, 09:02 PM

When I manage games I do it on a situational basis. I make sure their pitcher has to throw strikes to my bad hitters and pitchers. Sometimes a guy with a high power rating but low batting average seems to work towards a favorable count and get sonething 1-2 to hit as if the PC is trying to pitch around him.

05-02-2014, 03:37 AM	#1
JCarter93 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 157	Now I get it! Why you take pitches. I admit I'm not the brightest guy when it comes to sports, but thanks to this game I got a "well duh" moment about baseball. On the advice of this board I began micro-managing my Minor League team and made sure every player took pitches until they were on a 2-strike count. While I understood that this was to wear out the opposing starter, I did not see the long-term benefits until we played our rivals, the Binghamton Mets. It was a long-drawn out, high scoring series, which we swept only because we took pitches. In our last game our worst starter blew the marginal lead we had staked him, and put us behind by six runs by the 4th inning. By then, though, we had knocked out the starter and were now facing middle relievers we had already seen 2 or 3 times during the series. They could only go about 10 pitches before we started to turn them into hit pinatas,and we managed to close the gap by the 8th inning. They sent their very last man to face us in the 8th, and the poor guy was throwing exhausted after the first three batters. He must have been in tears by the time we scored the last insurance run. I finally took pity on him and had my guys swing away, but we still scored twice more before someone managed to ground out. So yeah, I finally get the idea. It's not necessarily about wining the first game in a series, it's about wearing the bullpen down so that by the third or fourth game they're too exhausted to put up a fight. War of attrition. I get now.

05-02-2014, 07:56 AM	#2
Cinnamon J. Scudworth All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 1,119	You should know that some (perhaps even most) people consider this an exploit. In real life, if you did this, the other team would notice that you are taking everything and just start pounding the strike zone. The pitching model in OOTP is not sophisticated enough to allow the AI to do this. Therefore you're getting an unrealistically high number of long at-bats and walks. The less "gamey" way of accomplishing the same goal is to try to select players that have good Eye ratings and just let them do their thing when your team is batting. But it's your game, obviously. __________________ "Sometimes, this is like going to a grocery store. You’ve got a list until you get to the check-out stand. And then you start reading People magazine, and all this other [stuff] ends up in the basket." -Sandy Alderson on the MLB offseason

05-02-2014, 12:21 PM	#5
JCarter93 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 157	Yeah, it occurred to me that this was kind of exploity. I'm thinking of only having them take one or two pitches, or take pitches to a hitter's count, just to simulate the manager enforcing a bit of plate discipline. Still, I see the long term value of having your guys take more pitches in real life. Even if you don't completely ruin them, getting into their bullpen as early as you can and as often as you can will certainly help you win. Last edited by JCarter93; 05-02-2014 at 12:23 PM.

05-02-2014, 09:02 AM	#3
StyxNCa Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Victoria, Texas Posts: 3,136	I do this all the time in one of the PS baseball games for exactly the reason of tiring out the bullpen early in a series. Doesn't always work cuz sometimes, especially the best pitchers, start throwing strikes. However, if they start doing that then I am expecting strikes and still can extend innings by getting hits rather than walks.

05-02-2014, 09:36 AM	#4
Jythier Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 86	I prefer the 'hit the first pitcher so hard that he's out in the first inning' approach to killing the bullpen, but it doesn't always work.

05-02-2014, 09:02 PM	#6
MarkVIIIMarc Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 35	When I manage games I do it on a situational basis. I make sure their pitcher has to throw strikes to my bad hitters and pitchers. Sometimes a guy with a high power rating but low batting average seems to work towards a favorable count and get sonething 1-2 to hit as if the PC is trying to pitch around him.